Portugal’s Northern Coast

With the heat wave still waving, we threaded together seaside retreats to stay cool. Much of the area North of Porto has several towns united by long stretches of rocky shoreline and is part of the Camino Portuguese Coastal Route. We saw many people with a wide range of nationalities, ages, and body shapes in dusty boots, sneakers and sandals with the signature shell swinging from their backpacks. Campgrounds placed signs informing hikers of their whereabouts and we often saw them resting or washing up in campgrounds. They were inspiring. While here, we walked on many trails they followed but always eventually made a u-turn since our possessions are carried in a campervan rather than on our backs.

Our photos (and videos) here

Mindelo

Strong Northern winds made a wind-barrier essential beach-going equipment on many Portuguese shores. Note how many of our beach photos feature sunbathers and even life guards huddled behind them. Often, life guards also wear hooded, head-to-toe windbreakers ensembles. 

We walked to a small mom and pop restaurant right on the beach in this small village of Arvore. A pre-teen boy pulled Dermot’s draft beers and also rang us out. The menu was limited in the veggies department but the seafood was fresh and tasty. 

The following day we took a long stroll south, mostly on boardwalks through the towns of Vila Cha, São Paio and Labruge. Vila Cha had a fisherman’s quarter and São Paio included the mostly undated but protected remains of circular stone houses which would have had thatched roofs. The wooden boardwalks protected endangered plover nesting territory. We stopped on our way back for a refreshing drink and just enjoyed the ocean views and sound of the wind and waves - very zen.

Fão

This town overdelivered on the wind - gusts were so strong we did little more than walking to the medieval cemetery and doing some grocery shopping. The campground wasn’t great so we moved on.

Viana do Castelo

Orbitur Viana do Castelo campground was more to our liking though we struggled to find a spot due to its popularity. The beach was filled with people taking full advantage of the water and wind including kitesurfing, wing-foiling, and twin-tipping (I had to look that up). Unfortunately we have no pictures of it all since we left our phones in the camper so we could enjoy the beach. Too bad the wind didn’t make it past the high dunes to cool the campsite - it was hot! We cooled off in the pool.

The following day we took an uber into Viana do Castelo to follow Lonely Planet’s “Viana Sampler” walking tour despite the heat. The Sé de Viana was built in the 15th century in Romanesque style. It was beautiful, as they usually are. The tomb with the raised sculpture which had its own window was the only one I’d ever seen like it. What a privileged place to spend eternity. 

We heard loud drumming and followed our ears to the Praça da República and witnessed some kind of celebration with an exciting musical routine with a bagpipe, accordion, many drums and people dressed in traditional clothing (photo above). The drummers pounded away enthusiastically drawing the crowd into their excitement. I added videos to the album. When the drumming finished, there was a procession which seemed quite tame in comparison. 

That left us to admire the square’s fountain, Antigos Paços do Concelho and the elaborate Igreja de Misericórdia. The Igreja is just beautiful with its blue and white tiles and altar.

 

We then checked out the free Casa dos Nichos - a 15th century house turned archeological museum. It was amazing to see the map detailing all the archeological sites ranging from Paleolithic to medieval in the area.

Model of fortified group of houses.

Praça da Liberdade is the huge square on the bank of the Rio Lima with a splash pad. It was fun watching adults trying to walk-race across to avoid being splashed by the unpredictable jets. 

Lunch at a recommended restaurant was a real deal with vegetable soup, puff pastry items filled with either chicken or seafood, sangria, bottled water and a regional dessert pastry I’ve forgotten the name of. It was filled with custard and had a light crunchy top with crushed almonds. These items were patiently explained to us by our kind server as we peered at the choices in the case. Total: 11€ and change. 

Gil Eannes, the hospital ship built here in 1955, spent over 20 years traveling the world often treating cod fishers around Iceland and Greenland. 

We then visited several churches on the way to Castelo de São Tiago da Barra. This fortress sits where the river meets the sea and was obviously built for defense. We enjoyed climbing the walls and checking out the views.

Next: Santiago de Compostela

Porto, Portugal

 

Sé do Porto Azulejos

We’d been to Porto in 2019 but we decided it was a good place to be while the inland temperatures were predicted to soar. Having changed campsites frequently for a stretch, we needed some downtime. South of Porto but just across the street from the beach, Orbitur Canidelo campground provided a relatively comfortable place to recover. The first day we walked to a beachfront restaurant for lunch, did some chores and walked to a restaurant for dinner.  

Our photos here

The following day I finished a post and we headed into Porto where we visited Sé do Porto - yes, another cathedral. This one is noted for its walls decorated with blue and white tiles (azulejos) depicting historical and biblical scenes. We climbed to the top of the bell tower for sweeping views of the city. That pillory right in front of the Sé was a stark warning. We’d also visited in 2019 but only realized it once there. 

Afterwards we headed for the historic Mercado do Bolhâo which has undergone renovations recently and has a basement floor that’s a typical market. We found the restaurants on the top floor had what we consider “tourist prices” so we headed for the recently added Time Out Market alongside the train station (also decorated extensively with azulejos). 

Train station panographic

The LP guidebook said The Time Out Market had been taken over by chefs. They were right: there were no traditional stalls of vegetables, meats and fish, just several mini-restaurants where you ordered your meal and were provided with a buzzer then seated yourself at long communal wooden tables. The many tempting choices at very reasonable prices made it hard to choose. We both enjoyed our meals and then sampled the offerings at the pastry shop.

We visited the National Museum Soares Dos Reis which had been a mansion that now housed art by Portuguese artists. There was a vast range of paintings, sculpture, ceramics, and items from church treasuries. I loved this painting of the boy showing the artist the portrait he’s done of him while getting his portrait painted.

There were also temporary photography exhibitions and a garden area that was hosting an event called “Other Tongues.” We were handed a “De-Othering Recital Audience Guide” which explained the event which emphasized participation and included artists from many different countries and disciplines (poetry, music and fabric art). I found it very moving and have included the English version of it at the end of this post. So often while traveling, I feel we are outside the culture looking in. I was asked to participate by reading the English translation of a beautiful poem by Si Tou Chi as she read in Cantonese. It felt good to be part of a moment of cross-cultural connection, however brief. 

We then roamed down to Ryan’s Irish Pub, then back to the Time Out Market for dinner. Dermot was tempted to get the dish described as “Bean Stew with Codfish Swimbladder” but went with the mussels instead. 

While strolling we noted many beautiful buildings but also many that were in ruins with nothing but facades supported so they don’t collapse. This one struck me as very sad as it was clearly a house of historical note and grandeur with its tiles explaining its significance.

We headed back to the riverfront and ran into a family that had camped next to us - what are the odds of running into the only people we know in Porto? We remember the waterfront as being very pretty and romantic at night when we last visited.

A spot with no vendors, just lots of tourists.

 It’s still very pretty but this time it was mobbed with vendors selling all kinds of trinkets and tourist services. We’re not sure if our memory is faulty or if it really is more touristy now. 

We got back to the campsite around 10:30 and shortly thereafter started hearing what we later found out were fireworks for yet another festival - this one not far from camp and in honor of St. Peter. 

From the “Other Tongues” event on June 28, 2025

bpM — De-Othering Recital Audience Guide

We miss the joy of reading together.

Those quiet afternoons, or early evenings, when everyone held a book,

and the only sound was the turning of pages.

No need to speak, but you knew everyone was there.

Tonight, we want to find that feeling again.

Bring your book

The one you wouldn't lend to anyone, or the one you picked up today.

Either works.

Find a place where your body can rest

Tonight, no one will tell you where to sit.

Maybe a cushion on the floor, maybe a chair in the corner, maybe beside a friend,

or somewhere quiet on your own.

Sound will begin like this

Someone will read a text, chosen for tonight's theme.

At the same time, an instrument will respond —

not background music, but conversation.

A dialogue between voices/sounds.

Then, the music will stay

It will move through the space, as natural as breathing.

You can open your book, close your eyes, or do nothing at all.

If you feel like reading aloud

The microphones are nearby, waiting for you,

Read anything — a line of poetry, a sentence, a page of prose.

Chinese, English, Portuguese, Patuá, or any language you want to speak.

The music will hear you, and respond.

This is not a performance

This is a night we create together.

No stage, no audience — just voices meeting in the room.

Be gentle

With yourself, with others' voices.

Languages we don't understand are beautiful too.

We're here, breathing together.

That's enough.

Zig-Zagging Through Portugal: Nazaré, Tomar, Leiria, Aviero and Arouca

 

Aveiro

Nazaré

We'd been here in 2019 so we only took a brief stroll along the boardwalk and then picked a recommended restaurant for dinner to celebrate Dermot's birthday. He chose well but my Cesar salad had nothing to recommend it.

We were surrounded by the scent of pine trees at Campground Obitur Valados but that night when we prepared to go to bed we realized the campervan had been invaded by mosquitoes. We swatted until we eventually saw no more to dispatch. Dermot was kept awake slapping away at the ones we missed. 

Our photos here

When we got up to shower in the morning, I saw them hanging out everywhere. Most of the ones we swatted that day were filled with our blood. It was clearly time to move on.

Tomar

Castelo de Tomar/Convent de Cristo was a delight to explore. The Knights Templar history is fascinating, the architecture is stunning and the art is awe inspiring. The highlight is the grand Charola as the photos try to show. As usual, the pics can only hint at the full experience. We learned that the arched entrances are very high so that horses and their riders could be blessed here before going off on crusades. 

There are wonderful Manueline doorways and windows often with tree of life and sea-life references. There's an aqueduct that supplied it with water, a huge kitchen, and seven cloisters, each with its own purpose. 

We lucked into an extensive art exhibition that explored the King Sebastion history and mystic that surrounds his disappearance and hopes for his return. We even got to meet the artist and had a great conversation with him about his 40 years of life here delving into literature, theater and art and why he left his native Australia for Portugal. 

I spent the afternoon with a profound sense of gratitude to have experienced places such as this and been enriched by the people we meet who chose to live passionately, even leaving their homeland, such as this artist.

Leiria

Castelo de Leiria was described as the best preserved castle in Portugal and it was very nice. However, it was more reconstructed than preserved. 

The complex included a reconstructed church, castle and the interior included a wonderful museum that displayed what had been found in excavations. We had fun wandering and even climbed to the top of the reconstructed tower and enjoyed views of the extensive fortifications as well as great views of the modern city below.

Aveiro

Aveiro has been called “the Venice of Portugal,” but it had quite a variety of landscapes to recommend it without having to draw on that overused comparison. At our campsite, we asked where we were most likely to see the pink flamingos LP had said live here and she responded “That’s a good question, I’ve never seen a flamingo in my life.” We followed the path to the Réserva Natural das Dunas de Săo Jacinto but missed a turn so we never got to the dunes but we enjoyed the hike. On later consulting the reviews of the boardwalk area over the dunes, several reported they had been harassed by a pack of feral dogs so maybe it was better we didn’t find them. 

The following day we parked in the city and took one of the very many boat tours available on a colorfully painted moliceiro. These were traditionally used to collect seaweed and to fish from but the ones in the city center are made for tourist trips. The art deco buildings were beautiful and there’s been a concerted effort to preserve the flavor of the fishing and salt industry that was the city’s original by maintaining the dimensions of canalside houses during reconstruction.  The many bridges were covered with colorful ribbons on which are written the names of those who want to declare their love or friendship. Our guide explained the history of each of the different canals we toured as well as explaining the current problems of gentrification that the area’s success as a tourist destination had created.

As described by Lonely Planet: “One of the jewels of Aveiro is the Mosteiro de Jesus, a 15th-century Dominican convent and baroque church that was the home of Princess Saint Joana, daughter of King Afonso V, who refused marriage in order to devote her life to religious pursuits. The building remained a convent until 1872 when the last nun in seclusion passed away. In 1882 it was bequeathed to the Third Dominican Order and converted into a religious school, until the First Republic’s religious intolerance laws forced it to close in 1910. The church was quickly classified a national monument and turned into the Aveiro Museum. Beyond an impressive collection of religious artwork, the museum holds the ornate marble tomb of Princess Saint Joana herself, laid to rest in the building that was her lifelong home.” 

Take a look at the intriguing habits worn by the nuns as depicted in the tiles and painting. The portrait of Joana was painted to show her beauty to potential matches she wanted nothing to do with - hence her expression. 

We had a nice dinner in the nearby coastal town of Barra and then strolled the pier and watched those who fished both with poles and spearguns.

Arouca

We came to enjoy the GeoPark which we envisioned as a park, but was actually a whole area. There was no campsite near enough to allow hiking excursions to fit into our visit so Dermot indulged the nerd in me by driving way up into the mountains to go to the Museu das Trilobites Gigantes. 

It was a labor of love for a man who recognized the potential importance of his fossil finds and he created this museum which his son now runs. Though the son must have both heard and delivered the same information thousands of times, his presentation was delivered with great expression and enthusiasm for the topic. I really loved the visit - we saw the fourth largest trilobite in the world (the one pictured with Dermot’s hand) the the largest in the world which was unfortunately rolled at the time of its death and crushed flat (pictured with Dermot’s head for reference).

Next stop : Porto